Don't Let Me Down
by StarkidGleek12
Summary: The sequel to "Someone to Fall Back On": Marley has finally opened up to Ryder and has opened the door to falling in love with him. But, when they make their relationship public, will circumstances keep them apart when secrets of the past come to the surface? I own nothing related to Glee! Rated T for language and dramatic content.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: And without further ado, here is the first chapter of the sequel to "someone to fall back on"! Sorry if this chapter doesn't have a lot of dialogue. It's also short because all i'm trying to do is introduce the story, but I promise, it will get better :) Please remember to rate and review and I do not own anything related to Glee, because I think we all know if I did, Ryder and Marley would be endgame and Marley would've finally bitchslapped Kitty already!**

Don't Let Me Down

"Hey guys knock it off!" Sam yelled at Marley and Ryder when they wouldn't stop sucking face long enough for Ryder to finish their game of Call of Duty.

"Dude, sorry but I'm getting my ass handed to me! I need my good luck charm." He replied winking at his girlfriend who was sitting the on the armrest next to him.

"Well could we please finish the game _sometime _before New Years Eve is over?" Artie asked irritably, glaring at the couple.

"Fine. I'll go into the kitchen and see if Unique and Brittany need any help." Marley intervened.

Oddly enough, the only two guys who were playing the game and weren't annoyed by the excessive amount of PDA was Blaine and Finn. Finn knew Ryder was really into Marley and saw a lot of him and Rachel in these two, and Blaine saw Marley as the kid sister he never had, and was really happy to see her so happy. Both Finn and Blaine were still reeling from their breakups, so seeing these two kids so happy and in love reaffirmed hope for them.

Marley left the game in progress so Ryder wouldn't take anymore ridicule and went into the kitchen to see if the hostesses, Unique and Brittany needed any help. They were hosting a Glee club party and almost everyone, including graduates Mercedes and Santana were there. The only ones who were currently in this year's Glee club who weren't in attendance were Kitty and Jake. But Marley didn't mind; Jake and Kitty would cause a lot of unnecessary drama. Luckily, everyone else in the Glee club was unsurprised by the new relationship. Everyone in the Glee club had dated fairly incestuously and everyone saw the chemistry between these two. Even though they did have the support of their Glee friends, Marley was still a little scared to face the rest of the school in a couple of days. Marley still didn't have an identity at McKinley, except for "hot daughter of the two ton dump truck lunch lady", "the new Rachel" and more recently, "the bulimic girl who ruined sectionals for the national championship Glee club". Marley didn't want to ruin Ryder's reputation, but he didn't seem to mind. Although, Marley did feel better knowing Ryder Lynn, the guy girls threw themselves at would be walking into McKinley in a couple of days with her and not some slutty cheerio.

"Ah. I see the boyfriend does come separately." Santana smirked as Marley walked into Unique's massive kitchen.

All the girls were sitting around the table watching T.V. and talking instead of hanging out with the boys in the living room.

"Leave her alone. Not too long ago you were the same way with Brittany." Mercedes chastised.

"So how did this start anyway Marley? I know you two couldn't keep your hands off each other in the restaurant but you guys are looking pretty serious." Tina asked her as she took the empty seat next to her and Brittany.

"I don't know." Marley answered truthfully. "Ryder's just been absolutely amazing to me these past couple of months. With the eating disorder and everything. He keeps me sane." Marley gushed. All the girls in the kitchen let out a sigh and looked at Marley with jealous looks.

"God, I remember when Mike treated me that way before we broke up." Tina let out sadly.

"It's not totally over yet, Tina." Mercedes comforted her.

"Well I'm just glad you are happy Marley. And if Kitty or God forbid Ryder screws with you, let me know as soon as possible and I will deal with them." Santana said.

"Thanks Santana." Marley said giggling and hugging her mentor.

"Wow Santana, you really are taking this mentor role to heart." Unique said to Santana.

"Don't worry Santana, I promise I won't hurt Marley. I don't think I could handle the wrath of McKinley's scariest head bitch." Ryder assured Santana as he snuck up behind Marley, wrapped his arms around her waist and snuck a quick kiss.

"Damn Straight, pretty boy!" Santana said as she raised her glass. "Now get the hell out of here, you're interrupting some serious girl talk! We can't talk about you if you're in the room." Santana tried to shoo him out.

"Ok, ok!" Ryder raised his hands in surrender. "Can't a guy get a drink and hear his girlfriend brag about how awesome he is?" Ryder chuckled grabbing a couple of cans of pop before retreating back into the living room.

"Hey, tell the guys to wrap up the game because it's almost midnight and Blaine needs to prepare for his incredibly clichéd rendition of Auld Lang Syne." Mercedes said to him.

"Mercedes, it's not clichéd, Ryan Seacrest's hair is." Blaine interrupted pointing at the T.V. as him and the rest of the boys shuffled into the kitchen.

"Whatever Blaine. Just get ready to sing as the clock strikes midnight." Tina rolled her eyes at him.

"You know, this will be the last year we can do a New Year's Eve song all together." Sam pointed out sadly.

"That's not true. We're all going to come home for the holidays and get together. We are a family." Blaine argued as the kids all gathered in for a group hug.

They were interrupted by the doorbell ringing. "Is anyone supposed to be coming? I thought Kitty and Jake were too cool for this?" Artie asked as Unique went to get the door.

"Hey guys! Sorry we're so late. The faculty party got really crazy and someone had to drive Principal Figgins home." Mr. Shue said as him and Ms. Pillsbury followed Unique into the kitchen. "I hope we're not too late for the singing." he added as he hugged everyone.

"It's fine, we still have an hour and a half until midnight." Tina assured them as everyone got settled in.

The doorbell rang yet again and Unique went to go see what it was. The smell of pizza wafted through the house and Unique came back with the six pizzas they ordered over an hour ago.

"Finally! The pizza's here! I was about to chew off my arm." Finn said as he unloaded the pizza from Unique's arm and put it on the countertop.

"Yeah that's not the only thing you've been eating gravy train." Santana said snarkily. Because this was typical Santana, everyone rolled their eyes and started to serve themselves.

Marley was hesitant however, and Ms. Pillsbury and Mr. Schue watched her carefully as Ryder squeezed her hand in a comforting manner and got her a couple of slices of pizza along with his own. Marley ate slowly as Ryder and Ms. Pillsbury took occasional sideways glances at her to make sure she was eating.

When everyone was done, they all prepared to go into the living room to get ready to watch the ball drop. Ms. Pillsbury stopped Marley quickly before she could go anywhere. "Hey Marley, can you help me clean up?" she asked nonchalantly.

Marley wasn't stupid. She knew that she wanted to make sure Marley wasn't going to sneak off to the bathroom and regurgitate everything she ate before it digested. "Sure Ms. Pillsbury." Marley smiled and went to work cleaning up the kitchen. While they were cleaning, Ms. Pillsbury attempted to make some small talk.

"So Marley, how has therapy been going?" she asked. "It's going fine, I guess." Marley shrugged. "Dr. Winter is a little out there though. He keeps saying that I developed the eating disorder because it was my way to control things that are uncontrollable."

"That doesn't sound totally crazy." Ms. Pillsbury said. "In fact, my therapist says the same thing to me. But things got so much better when I was able to lean on Will. Maybe Ryder is doing the same thing for you?" she suggested.

"How do you know-?" Marley started. How did even the adults know about the love lives of the Glee kids, she wondered.

"Because it's not hard to notice how you and Ryder were acting the whole time." Ms. Pillsbury smiled.

Before Marley could reply, Mr. Schue came into the kitchen. "Hey girls, the ball's about to drop soon. Hurry up!" he said impatiently with a boyish glint in his eyes.

"Ok, Will we're just wrapping up in here." Emma smiled and they all went into the living room.

Marley found Ryder on the couch next to Sam and Brittney and Marley took up her place on the armrest next to him. Ryder wrapped his arm loosely around her waist and dragged her down so she was sitting on his lap. She smiled in contentment and got closer to him. Marley was happy. The Glee club were sitting in the living room talking and Marley just sat with Ryder listening to the conversations, not feeling any need to talk.

Eventually the ball dropped and Blaine got up and went to his portable keyboard he set up hours before. His fingers confidently navigated the keys as he played _Auld Lang Syne _from memory. Everyone gathered around him to sing along with him. When the song was over, everyone clapped and Ryder grabbed Marley, dipped her and kissed her. They were interrupted by laughing and wolf-whistles from the rest of the Glee club. At that moment, Marley actually wished they were alone.

A few hours later, Mr. Schue was the one who broke up the party, saying everyone should go home. Ryder drove Marley home and they sat in his truck making out yet again until Marley's mom flickered the porch light in warning.

"I really need to go in the house Ryder!" she said laughing as he kept trying to pull her in.

"Ok, fine. Sweet dreams babe." he smiled as he gave in and settled for one last kiss.

Marley got out of the truck and ran into her house while Ryder pulled out of her driveway and went home. Marley made some small talk with her mom and then went to bed, thinking that this was going to be a great year.

A couple of days later, it was time to go back to school. Marley hated going to school because she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid the wrath of Kitty and all her followers who ridiculed Marley every chance they got. But she still went, because she had to if she was ever going to graduate and try to make something of herself and become better than all of her bullies. Something about today however was different. Maybe it was because she was looking forward to Glee club and moving forward from sectionals. Or, maybe it was because she would have Ryder by her side. But something about the fact her and Ryder were unavoidably going public made her nervous. The Glee club was supportive but how would the rest of the school feel? These thoughts immediately left her head however when Ryder just happened to call her then.

"Good morning, beautiful." he greeted groggily.

"Good morning! Are you still in bed Ryder? You know school starts in like a half-hour, right?" she replied giggling as she went downstairs for breakfast.

"Yes Marls, I know this, but where else was I supposed to call my girlfriend and get motivated to get up?" he replied back. She could imagine the sexy smirk he was probably wearing right then. She heard him yawn through the phone and before they could say anything else, she could hear yelling from his end. It sounded like his brother and sister were arguing about something. "Hey Marls, I'll see you at school in a little bit, I have to deal with Taylor and Tyler. Love you!"

She giggled silently and said "I love you too Ryder, see you at school." and hung up the phone.

She ate her breakfast and rode to school in silence with her mom. Just as she opened her locker to get her schoolbooks, she felt a pair of arms snake their way around her waist and she turned around to see Ryder's smiling face. Without thinking, she pulled Ryder's head down to meet her and kissed him.

When they released, he murmured in her ear "I could get used to that." and pulled her in for a tight hug.

He let her go long enough so she could get her stuff and she took his hand and they emerged down the hallway for their first class. All the football players wolf-whistled and made inappropriate gestures and everyone else just looked at them in awe or jealously. That was nothing compared to the looks Marley received from Kitty and the cheerios. Jake also spotted them together and looked absolutely pissed at them. He slammed his locker and stormed off somewhere.

"They're staring at us." Marley said glancing at Ryder.

"Let them stare." he smirked, causing more girls to sigh and glare at the brunette wrapped in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone :) I want to thank everyone who has read this story and the sequel DLMD was based on, "Someone to fall back on"! I'm glad reviews have been positive, and I'm glad people follow it but more reviews would be appreciated! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I also made it a little (maybe a lot) smutty, so be wary when you read it. It is rated T for a reason! I own nothing related to glee! Enjoy this story and I will update soon :)**

After the awkward walk to first period with everyone staring at Marley and Ryder in the hallway, the rest of the morning was pretty uneventful. Everyone eventually stopped staring at them as the morning dragged on. So, by the time lunch rolled around, they thought they were in the clear. That was until all hell broke loose. They hadn't seen Jake Puckerman that day until he staggered up to them in the cafeteria as they were walking in the cafeteria. Jake looked completely disheveled and they could unmistakably smell alcohol on his breath as he stumbled up to them with a paper-wrapped bottle clutched in his hand and a deadly look in his eyes.

"Hey buddy. I see you didn't waste any time under the mistletoe over break, now did you?" he said to Ryder with the sarcasm dripping from his drunken words. "You better get used to cold showers dude, because this cheap slut will never put out." he said pointing at Marley.

"Jake, you're just pissed at me because I'm the only girl at this school who hasn't slept with you. I actually thought you were different, but your reputation really precedes you. You were the one who blew your chance with me and your ego can't take it. You make me sick." Marley spat out.

"Ok Jake, that's enough. You're drunk dude, and-" Ryder said wearily before Jake cut him off.

"Wait a minute, did you really just call me _dude_? What the hell happened to bros before hoes? Oh, that clearly doesn't apply to you! Tell me, because I obviously never got the chance to find out for myself, but do white girls have strong knees?"

Ryder snapped and before Marley could say anything, Ryder's fist connected with Jake's face and both of them were on the ground fighting. The bottle of booze spilled on the ground and rolled across the cafeteria floor and a small crowd was building, egging on the two boys while Marley screamed at them to stop. About five minutes into the fight, Mr. Schue and Finn ran through the crowd and broke up Jake and Ryder.

"That's enough guys!" Mr. Schue yelled at them. "Jake, why do you smell like you've been drinking? You know that's against the rules! We're going to Figgins's office. Ryder, we're going to talk about this later." Mr. Schue said as he dragged Jake out of the cafeteria.

Finn released Ryder, who received a good blow to his nose during the fight, and was trying to staunch the flow of blood gushing from his face.

"Come on man, let's go to the nurse and get that cleaned up." Finn said directing him from the cafeteria also.

As Marley stood there alone trying to fathom what happened, she could feel all eyes on her. So, she held her head high and walked to the back of the lunch line. Luckily, her mom must've been working in the back doing food prep, because Marley didn't have to face her as she got her lunch. As she went to find a seat, everyone moved on and only a few people stared at her. She sat down in between Blaine and Unique at the Glee club table and immediately everyone questioned her.

"Is it true Jake had a switchblade on him and Ryder got stabbed?" Tina asked with wide eyes.

"Did they spontaneously burst into a song describing their romantic feelings for

each other?" Brittany asked.

"No! None of that happened." Marley answered rolling her eyes. "You guys saw what happened, didn't you?"

"No, because everyone blocked our view when Ryder punched out Jake." Artie answered.

"Well, maybe it's none of our business guys. It's over, let's not cause any drama." Blaine said adjusting his bowtie.

"Agreed." Marley said firmly.

With that, the subject was changed onto Sam's latest conspiracy theory on how the Warblers cheated at sectionals. Eventually, lunch was over and it was time for Glee club practice. As everyone settled into their seats in the choir room, Mr. Schue, Ryder and Finn all walked in the door. Ryder took the seat next to Marley and took her hand as Mr. Schue started class.

"Well, I hope everyone had a good break and are ready to get back to competition mode."

"Wait, I thought we lost sectionals, so the competition season is over?" Blaine interrupted.

"Yeah about that, I got a call yesterday from the National Show Choir Competition Review Board. Apparently, the Warblers were taking steroids to enhance their performance and they're launching a full investigation, so the Warblers have lost their sectionals title and we get another chance!" Mr. Schue announced cheerfully. "But there's some bad news, Jake just got expelled today for having alcohol on campus, so we're a member short; I'm sure we'll find someone to replace him though."

"I think I know someone who'll be interested." Kitty announced from the back of the room.

"Really, Kitty?" Mr. Schue prompted.

"Yes, my cousin Claire. She's transferring here tomorrow. Rest assured, she has an amazing voice. I think Ryder and Marley can attest that she'll make a wonderful addition to your merry band of geeks and gays." Kitty finished.

"Well, we'll definitely let her audition if she's interested." Mr. Schue agreed earnestly.

Marley gave Ryder a worried glance and he was trying desperately not to meet her eyes. Marley was praying that Claire would have a terrible voice and she wouldn't be allowed to join. She could handle Kitty, and now there was a glimmer of hope now that Jake was expelled and out of their hair, and Marley thought that maybe she could handle Ryder's ex-girlfriend at the same school as long as she didn't have to interact with her, but if she was in Glee club with them, she wasn't so sure of how much she could stand it. Ryder was the one who said he wasn't sure what happened between them. Maybe that was code for he still had some unshakeable feelings for Claire? Marley couldn't let go of these thoughts all through class and seemed distracted. As soon as Glee club was over and they were out of earshot of the others, Ryder immediately picked up on his girlfriend's emotions.

"Ok, what's wrong? You seem worried. Is this about Claire?" he prompted.

"Please tell me Claire has a terrible voice. I could stand it if she came here because there's a pretty slim chance you'd be in class with her because classes are divided in alphabetical order, but-." Ryder just chuckled at Marley's insecurities.

"Marley, are you really jealous of Claire? I told you, nothing is going to change how I feel about you. What happened with Claire is done and over with. We can all be mature about this. And, unfortunately she has a great voice. She was the lead in my old school's musical last year. But, she doesn't compare to you." Ryder kissed the top of Marley's head and hugged her.

"Ok. But if she tries to make a move on you-" Ryder cut her off with a kiss.

"You're cute when you're jealous. But seriously, don't start calling a hit on Claire yet." Marley just sighed.

"It's just a little suspicious that we'd see her at your family's Christmas party and now she's coming here."

"It's just a coincidence Marls. Now let's go to class." Ryder assured her.

Then, they heard the intercom turn on and the heavy Indian accent of Principal Figgins spoke. "Marley Rose, please report to the front desk, you're being signed out."

"Shoot, I totally forgot! I have an appointment today with my therapist. I have to get my work for my last few classes." Marley said.

"Ok Marls, how about I come over tonight after basketball practice so you can help me with my homework and we could have some alone time together?" Ryder asked her hopefully.

"Ok that sounds great, just text me before you come over." Marley said as she kissed him and left.

When she finally got to the office, she saw her mom still in her work uniform.

"Marley, you have your drivers license with you right?" When she nodded in reply, her mom thrust the keys to their car in her hands with a piece of paper, a plastic card and some cash.

"I need you to drive yourself to your appointment. I already gave the receptionist the insurance information and the credit card number for the co-pay, you just have to sign yourself in. I would drive you, but I have to stay here and work late tonight. I filled the gas tank yesterday, so you shouldn't need to stop but I gave you the emergency card just in case. And there's some cash for takeout since I won't be home for dinner tonight. Please eat some food and be careful driving?" Marley's mom implored.

"Yes mom, I got it. Should I stop by and pick you up when you get off?" Marley asked. "No sweetie, my friend Sally who works with me is going to give me a ride home." Millie replied.

"Ok. And is it ok if Ryder comes over tonight when he's done with basketball practice so we can do our homework?" Marley begged.

"Yeah, that's fine Marley. But no funny business and he can't be over too late, alright? Now please go, I don't want you to be late." Millie said as she shooed Marley out of the school.

Fifteen minutes later, Marley was walking into Dr. Winter's waiting room where the nice receptionist greeted her.

"Hey, sweetie! Your mama already handled the insurance stuff. You can just sign in and take a seat. Dr. Winter will call you back in a few, ok? She said in her drippy sweet southern accent. Marley smiled and thanked the receptionist as she took a seat.

Ten minutes later, Marley was called back. "Hello Marley." Dr. Winter greeted her. "Why don't you take a seat and we'll get started?"

"Ok ma'am." Marley replied shyly as she took a seat on the leather loveseat. Despite the warm and comforting décor in the office and the fact that she had been there before, Marley still felt uncomfortable there. Maybe it was the fact that her mom was paying Dr. Winter $200 per session to get her to open up about her deep-seated issues and Marley could barely open up to her own friends and family. She knew she could be able to trust Dr. Winter, who was a seemingly nice, middle-aged woman who specialized in treating young women with depression, eating disorders, and issues with self-harm, but Marley was still scared of the idea of flapping her mouth because she could easily be thrown in a psych ward, hooked up to a I.V. drip if she said the wrong thing.

"So, how have things been going for you since we last talked?" Dr. Winter asked.

"They're great." Marley choked out. "I've been out of school for a few weeks for Christmas break and today was the first day back."

"So nothing at home has really triggered anything? It's all happened when you were in school?" Dr. Winter questioned.

"I guess. I mean, I've never fit in at any school I've been to. So, I guess I was just under a lot of pressure to be what others wanted me to be. It's not easy when you're mom is considered the town joke." Marley mumbled ashamedly.

"Marley, that's the most I've gotten out of you in three sessions. It's clear to me that you're not really ashamed of your family, but yourself. You think that if you try to become someone you're not, people will like you. I feel like you coming face-to-face with your problems might be the step in the right direction. It also seems like you're finally opening up and starting to trust people. If you don't mind me asking, has anything changed?" Dr. Winter said to her.

"Well, I kind of started dating a guy at school. It happened over break and he's been really great." Marley replied.

"Really? He hasn't tried to pressure you into anything right?" Dr. Winter frowned. "No, of course not! He's just the opposite. I think he really cares about me." Marley stammered.

"Well that's good. I think because you've made some progress today, I'll let you go a little bit early today. All I want you to do is keep a journal of everything you feel. That might help you get more in touch with your emotions. I want you to continue seeing Ms. Pillsbury at school a couple of times a week and come back in two weeks. Bring in your journal and we'll talk some more, ok? Dr. Winter said to her as she wrote some notes on a clipboard.

"Ok, thank you Dr. Winter." Marley said as she got up and retrieved the note about her next appointment from Dr. Winter.

As she left and got in the car to drive away, she got a text message from Ryder: _"Hey babe, practice got cancelled, I'm just in the library doing some HW. Call me when you're done? __J__ "_

Marley smiled and called him back. After a couple of rings, he picked up. "Hey Marls! You done already?" he asked.

"Yeah, the appointment went really well so my therapist let me go a little early. I'm just about to leave the office, and I should be at my house in twenty minutes. Do you want to meet me over there in a half-hour or so?" Marley replied.

"Yeah that's fine. I'll see you in a bit." he answered.

Forty minutes later, Marley was settled in on the couch working on math homework when she heard Ryder ring the doorbell. She opened the door and Ryder gave her a kiss. She took Ryder by the hand when he pulled away and they walked into the living room. When they were both settled on the couch, she curled up closer to him and he was the first to speak.

"So, should we start with Math, or should we just skip this altogether and get to the alone time?" he murmured in her ear as his lips made light contact with the hallow of her neck.

Marley giggled and playfully pushed him away. "Ok, no alone time until we get all our homework done! So let's just get the math done and I'm yours for the rest of the day." Marley said as she pulled out her worksheet.

"Ok." he agreed grudgingly as he also pulled out his homework.

An hour later, they got all their homework done, and Ryder actually understood it when Marley patiently explained the process and rewarded him with a quick kiss for every right answer he got. They decided to order Chinese takeout and we're waiting on the couch watching TV until the food came.

"So how did your appointment go?" he asked nonchalantly as he gave her a neck rub.

"It was great actually. I'm starting to feel like I'm more in touch with what's wrong with me." she answered as she leaned into Ryder when he was done rubbing her neck.

"Baby, there's nothing wrong with you. You've just had to deal with some bad things. I know it's not going to be easy, but you'll get over this and I'll support you in any way I can. I just want you to feel better and realize how special you are." he said sincerely as he pulled her into his chest.

"I know Ryder. And I'm working on it. But I'm really glad to have you by my side." Marley replied contentedly.

As Ryder leaned in to kiss her, they were interrupted by the doorbell. "The food's here. I'll go get it." Marley whispered as she got up.

They ate in peace and watched some more TV. Either something in the Chinese food served as an aphrodisiac or maybe they got an adrenaline rush from being alone in the house, but when they leaned into each other to kiss, they couldn't stop. It was like a repeat of the first time they were alone together. Nothing could tear them apart.

With every touch and caress, the fire in them grew deeper. Marley's hands melted in his soft brown hair and his hands gliding over her back and waist drove her crazy. Ryder moved Marley onto his lap and his mouth traveled to the base of her neck. She threw her head back and let out a deep sigh. Ryder groaned when he felt her hips buck against him and slowly moved his hands to her stomach and slid them under her shirt. Marley pulled away momentarily and some sense snapped back into his brain.

"Marley maybe we should slow down. Your mom could be home any second and if you're not ready-" She cut him off with a finger to his lips.

"My mom's not going to be home until later. Please Ryder?" Marley took off her shirt and it took Ryder everything in him not to lose control right then.

Something about seeing Marley so, _in charge_ turned him on. She ducked her head down to his chest and kissed it, working her way up to his earlobe. Ryder groaned when he realized he was starting to lose control. Marley suddenly stood up, retrieved her shirt from the back of the couch, and pulled Ryder up with her. She gave him a seductive smile and Ryder knew what was implied. He followed her into her bedroom and she locked the door. He sat down on her bed and Marley threw her shirt on the floor and pulled his shirt off. He didn't realize how direct she could be when she really wanted to. This not only turned him on, but scared him a little bit. He had never felt this way when he had been with other girls, not even Claire.

Marley took the initiative to press her lips to his and he responded. Her mouth opened to his and their tongues battled for dominance. Ryder braced her thighs to him and he deftly moved his hands to the waistband of her skirt. He looked to her for permission, and she gulped and nodded. It took him a couple of seconds with trembling hands to find the zipper and he pulled her skirt and tights down. Marley stepped out of them and laid down on the bed to let him move to the top. Ryder pulled his jeans off and threw them on the floor. When Marley looked at his bare chest, it was then she realized that they were naked and part of that scared her. He must have saw the look on her face, because he immediately stopped despite his obvious bulge and sat down on the bed next to her, much like he did less than a month ago.

"Do you want to stop? I really don't mind. We don't have to rush this." he said as he took her hand.

Marley sighed and dragged Ryder next to her under her sheets "Will you just lie with me?" she asked him.

He wrapped her closely to his chest and kissed the top of her head. "Gladly." he obliged.

They laid down in her bed half-naked, talking and laughing, kissing and touching. Even though they didn't actually have sex, Ryder felt closer to her just being with her despite her obvious insecurities with how intimate they could be. An hour later, at around 6:30pm, Marley's cell phone rang and she fished around the floor in the pile of discarded clothes until she found it tangled in her skirt. She picked it up and saw her mom's number on the caller ID.

"Hey mom! What's up?" she answered nonchalantly like Ryder wasn't sitting in her bed in just his boxers.

"I just wanted to call you and tell you that I'll be home in a few hours. I'm just going to get a drink with the girls. You still have school tomorrow so I want you ready for bed soon and I want Ryder out of there by the time I get home. You have until 10pm." her mom said to her.

"Ok mom you have my word." she said glancing at Ryder, who had started to get up. She hung up her cell phone and threw it back on the floor.

Ryder was the first one to speak. "So I guess this means I should go now, right?" he asked.

Ryder saw a devilish smile spread across her soft features and she ripped his jeans from his hands and pulled him on top of her lap.

"Not quite. We still have some time left and there's something I want to do." she murmured as she gripped him in her hands and kissed his chest.

On the inside, Ryder was going crazy but he didn't want to break just yet. He just chuckled. "Something about breaking the rules really gets you going, doesn't it?" he whispered in her ear.

His voice, as smooth as velvet reignited the fire in her stomach and she decided then she was ready. She knew that Ryder would never hurt her and she wanted Ryder to be her first and she didn't want to wait any longer. She only had a few hours left and she wanted to make them count. She pushed Ryder back down on her bed and pulled his boxers down lower.

"Shut up, Lynn." she muttered as she moved her lips down his chest and stomach.

He let out a deep groan when she reached his manhood and his hips bucked against her as she braced herself to him. She didn't exactly know what she was doing or if she was any good at it. It just came to her impulsively and she was a little shocked when he started moaning in ecstasy. She stopped and looked up at him innocently.

"Am I doing something wrong, Ryder?" she asked.

"God no, Marley. You're amazing, just a little feistier in bed than I would have expected." he looked at her with dark and lust-filled eyes.

He grasped her shoulders and he became the dominant one as he moved her underneath him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he moved his mouth onto her neck, working his way up her ear.

"I just want to be sure, that you're ready for this. There's no turning back. You need to be able to trust me." he whispered lovingly.

"Ryder, I'm ready for this. I don't want to do this with anyone else. I trust you." she whispered back.

"There's one more thing." he added somberly. "You need to forgive yourself and let every bad that thing that happened to you go before we go any further." She closed her eyes and let the tears fall freely as he pulled away to look for something on the floor next to the bed. He pulled a condom out of his wallet and looked at her.

"Ok Ryder, I forgive myself." she sighed before pressing her lips onto his with crushing pressure.

She helped his trembling hands open the wrapper and slip the latex on him. Ryder slipped off her underwear and thrust himself inside of her. She let out a cry of pain which turned into ecstasy. Ryder started out slow but Marley felt like she was on fire as Ryder's pace quickened inside of her. Marley finally came and Ryder settled down next to her. Marley was completely out of breath as she turned over to look at her alarm clock. It was 8:30. She suddenly felt self-conscious.

"Ryder, how was that?" she asked him, unable to meet his eyes.

He looked at her with the same deep and soulful eyes she saw a few months ago when she first met him.

"Marley, that was so amazing. That was the best experience of my life. I could never regret it." he answered truthfully.

He kissed the top of her head and she sighed with relief.

"I'll never regret it either." They sat entwined into each other until he really had to go.

"I wish you didn't have to leave." she sighed sadly as he pulled his boxers and jeans back on.

"I'm never going to leave you Marls. I love you too much to let you down. I'll see you tomorrow, because you really need to get ready for bed before your mom suspects anything went on." he said as he left.

Marley laid in her bed with a content sigh until she heard his truck leave her driveway. She pulled on her bathrobe and walked downstairs to get her stuff and got a shower before officially heading to bed. At around 10pm, her mom was walking in the door as her head hit her pillow. Marley finally had a peaceful and relaxing night of sleep thinking of her and Ryder.


End file.
